8 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, April 8, 2003 ARTS 'BECKHAM' WORTH ROOTING FOR CHADHA COMICALLY BLENDS SPORT AND CULTURE 01 By Tara Billik Daily Arts Writer MOV E REV W ents' adamant disapproval. Her traditional Indi- an family believes that Jess' purpose in life con- sists of two main objectives: learning how to cook and marrying a nice Indian boy. Consequently, after Jess is recruited by the equally talented Juliette (Keira Knightley) to play for an all-girls team, she packs a snowball of lies to keep her parents from discovering that she spends her days on the soccer field. Meanwhile, her sister's wedding complicates things further for Jess, as the plans conflict with her most important game. Nonetheless, this obligatory Indian-film inclu- ______________ sion sets a delightful stage for comedic encounters remi- niscent of "My Big Fat Greek Beckham Wedding" and adds the lush At the State Theater visuals of traditional Indian Fox Searchlight attire to the cinematic palette. A memorable moment during one of the cele- brations finds a row of sari-clad Indian women checking their cell phones at the same time, fur- ther supporting the film's theme of temporal and cultural transition. A particularly entertaining subplot involves Juliette's wacky mother, a soccer mom boasting the sentiment, "There's a reason Sporty Spice is the only one without a boyfriend." She adds a new misunderstanding to the heap by believing Juliette and Jess are lesbians because of a cer- tain argument between the two. Little does she know the argument arises over Juliette's jealousy regarding the girls' coach, a young Irishman, with an attraction for Jess. The execution of this love triangle, however, seems the result of a forced romantic thread that "Bend It" would be better off without. Most of the charm lies with director Gurinder Chadha's leading lady. Nagra is both athletic Goooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalillillllili!!! and feminine. Her skills and sincerity have the audience cheering for her, both on and off the field. Mr. and Mrs. Bhamra (Anupam Kher and Shaheen Khan respectively) are caricatures of an assimilated youth's conventional Indian par- ents. Though standing between Jess and her dream, their stereotypic roles are both loving and lovable. Jonathon Rhys-Meyers ("Velvet Goldmine"), as the attractive male coach, shares his personal sob story with Jess, desperate for a connection between the two that just doesn't exist. The film combines formulas of multiple gen- res, from the teen comedy to the sports movie, inviting a wide range of spectators. It features plenty of enjoyable humor to entertain for the full two hours. However, though "Bend It Like Beckham" is disguised as a delightful coming- of-age comedy, its production reveals an appro- priate amount of substance as well. NBC is taking over prime time, even by scare tactics if necessary. TV DISH NEWS FROM THE TUBE By Christian Smith Daily Arts Writer After a brief hiatus, we're back again for the second edition of the Daily's TV dish, detailing all the lat- est in the world of television - everything from guest stars to Nielsen ratings. So buckle up, here we go ... Goodbye? - In the two weeks since its move to Friday nights, NBC's "Ed" has averaged about 11 million viewers, winning its 9 p.m. timeslot both times. But that may not be enough. The season finale airs this Friday at 9 p.m., and it could be the series finale as well. Watch it, or you may not be able to next year. "Stripes" Shift - NBC recently announced that the White Stripes will perform on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" for a four-night stint, from April 22 through 25, to promote their new album Elephant, which hit stores last Tuesday. Look out, Max Wein- berg, someone's coming for your job. 'Nightfire' captures the James Bond spirit boost with their war coverage. After the first full week of coverage from Iraq, Fox News Channel was the highest rated cable network with 5.58 million viewers per night, which more than doubled its previous week's average. Not far behind was CNN with an average of 4.27 million. In the Works - The fall televi- sion season is heating up to be a good one, with a slew of pilots already in development. Networks will have a grab-bag to choose from for their upcoming schedules; with an "Out of Sight" spin-off on ABC, a WB remake of "MacGyver" and separate projects for Tracy Morgan and Jenny McCarthy already in progress. Additionally, FOX is adapting "About a Boy," the 2002 film direct- ed by Chris and Paul Weitz of "American Pie" fame, for the small- screen. Based on the novel by Nick Hornby, the sitcom will star Patrick Dempsey as a self-centered thir- tysomething whose immature lifestyle changes drastically when he befriends a 12-year-old boy, accord- ing to The Hollywood Reporter. And speaking of those Weitz brothers, they will be heading 'up another FOX comedy project: Molly Shannon's "Cracking Up.'' Elsewhere, Zap2it.com reports ABC has already given a 13-episode order to the mob/FBI drama "Lines of Duty" from film critic-turned- director Rod Lurie. The drama will star Leslie Bibb ("Popular") as a rookie FBI agent and David Paymer ("State and Main") as a mobster, alternating between the two charac- ters' perspectives. Might we have another "Sopranos" on our hands? By Daniel Yowell Daily Arts Writer Electronic Arts' first three forays into the James Bond universe saw the developers unsure of what to do with the franchise. On its fourth attempt, EA seems to have more direction. "007 Night- fire" captures the tone and action of the Bond movies in an original story with solid gameplay to boot. While it does not surpass Rare's "Goldeneye" as a revolution- 007 Nightfire GameCube, PS2 and XBox EA along and look fantastic, as do the in-play graph- ics. Bond is a perfect likeness of Pierce Brosnan, complete with trademark one-liners (but without Brosnan's real voice). 007 must complete a wide variety of missions with unique objectives, from high-speed chases in his decked out Aston Martin to sniper missions to all out, run-and-gun levels. There is no shortage of weapons, from auto- matics to guided missiles, or Q-Branch gadgets, like the wristwatch laser and cell phone grappling hook. The variety in "Nightfire" keeps the action fresh and interesting as the game goes on. "Nightfire" also one-ups its predecessors in the all-important multiplayer mode. The game fea- tures a wide variety of well-designed arenas and multiplayer scenarios, like capture the flag and assassination or just straight deathmatch. Al bots with customizable personalities and skill levels can make multiplayer battles even fiercer. All that's missing are ongoing player stats, which would allow friends who compete often to com- pare scores. Ratings War - Two episodes of -% ' "American Idol" were the most watched shows for the week ending March 30, Nielsen Media Research reported last week. Both the Tuesday and Wednesday editions averaged just over 19 million viewers apiece. However, NBC won the week with Courtesy of EA all three versions of the "Law & Order" franchise breaking the top 10. On CBS, "Survivor: The Amazon" tion with came in at number three. Meanwhile, to be the ABC continued to air wretched crap fire" suc- that no one watched. e entirety Over on the cable front, the news networks are getting an enormous Take that! ary first-person shooter, "Nightfire" is the next best thing to being Bond. The game begins just like a Bond film, with an action-packed, interactive teaser followed by an authentic intro sequence with a song by Esthero. Pre-rendered narrative scenes move the story EA is now shooting in the right direc their 007 games. Instead of attempting next "Goldeneye," the cinematic "Night ceeds in its own right by representing th of the Bond experience. U U Have you ever been en a webdate: " The only truly FREE online personals " FREE webcam and microphone functionality " FREE email messaging " Upload video and or pictures profiles " Unlimited public or private chat rooms . No credit card required " Chat and see someone new in just minutes Meet guys and girls that are online right now Logon to: www. at .com 0 0